PROGRAM ASSESSMENT PLAN:
English Language and Literatures: Undergraduate Majors in English
1. List the OBJECTIVES of the program.
A. All graduates of the program in English should be lifelong critical and informed
readers of literature and other texts.
B. All graduates of the program in English should be able to write effectively in their
chosen fields.
C. All graduates of the program in English should be aware of the importance of literacy
in the information age and in command of the essential language tools they will need
as literate members of society.
2. Explain how the department or program will know the extent to which
OBJECTIVES are achieved (alumni or other surveys, employment data, etc.).
Alumni Surveys in five-year intervals.
3. List the LEARNING OUTCOMES of the program.
All students taking a B. A. in English should be
informed readers, able to formulate readings of texts based on their knowledge of
literary historical contexts and of basic critical strategies
able to develop a thesis and sustain a coherent written argument about literature
using secondary sources
Students in the Literature Concentration should also be
familiar with works in the Anglo-American literary tradition and other literatures
written in English
familiar with and able to use the terms of literary analysis
Students in the Creative Writing Concentration should also be
familiar with the discipline of creative writing and the value of criticism in the
creative process
able to write in their chosen creative forms
Students in the Professional Writing Concentration should also be
familiar with the fields of professional writing and with the primary writing
conventions and skills needed in several fields
able to create and edit appropriate professional and/or technical documents
Students in the TESOL Concentration should also be
familiar with the nature of language, the structure of English, and the
fundamentals of language teaching
able to develop a classroom pedagogy informed by their understanding of
language
Students in the Integrated Language Arts Concentration should also be
familiar with the fundamentals of teaching language arts at the high school and
middle school levels
able to develop an approach to language arts teaching informed by their
understanding of literature and language
4. List and briefly describe the MEASURES that will be used to assess each learning
outcome.
Longitudinal review of papers. Each year, 10 preliminary papers, with corresponding
assignments will be randomly culled from fall term sections of ENG 300/3050; 10
final papers/final exams, with corresponding assignments will be randomly culled
from spring term sections of English 301/3060. Additionally, depending on the
assessment year, five culminating papers, together with the corresponding
assignment, will be randomly selected from one of the following courses or sets of
courses:
 ENG 400/4000-level literature class in spring (Literature)
 ENG 492 and 493/4880 or 4870 (Creative Writing)
 ENG 405/4640 (Professional Writing)
 ENG 484/4780 (TESOL)
 ENG 486/4560 (Integrated Language Arts)
The papers from the 300/3050 - 301/3060 sequence be assessed biennially by the
Undergraduate and Literature Program Committees for the general outcomes
expected of all students, with attention also given toward progress made by the
samples toward achieving the objectives, in addition to achieving the course
objectives of the core sequence. The papers from the courses listed in bullets will
be evaluated by program committees to determine the degree to which they meet
the specific learning outcomes of each concentration (see timetable below). All
program outcomes will be assessed in this way.

Exit survey: each graduating senior is given a brief survey to complete prior to the
“graduation check” advising meeting. These are collected, sorted, and stored until
needed for assessment. Students will be asked questions addressing department
objectives and outcomes for student’s concentration.

Following the completion of each year’s assessment cycle, the program faculty will
hold a retreat for the purpose of weighing the implications of the assessment data
and following the retreat will report implications and any resultant curricular
adjustments to the department at the next mid-term department meeting.
5. Describe how learning outcomes are made MEASURABLE and BENCHMARKS or other
determinants of success are set.
The department generally, and faculty in each concentration, will prepare a version
of the attached rubric that applies to their concentration. This rubric will be revised
and updated as needed. This will provide faculty with guidelines for evaluating the
success of students in the program and in each concentration.
6. Describe the process by which FINDINGS will be derived from the measures.
The department’s annual assessment report will be posted to the departmental
online files prior to the mid-term department meeting. Faculty will hear the program
committee’s detailed assessment report, review learning outcomes and work
collected from the targeted courses together with all exit survey findings that pertain
to the concentration being evaluated, and make recommendations to the program
committee.
Once every five years (in year 5 of the cycle as described below) the department will
conduct a survey of alumni designed to assess the program objectives. These will
be discussed and evaluated in that year’s mid-term assessment meeting.
.
7. Describe the process by which findings are analyzed to determine what
IMPROVEMENTS should be made to better meet objectives and learning outcomes.
Department faculty are likely to produce general recommendations for curricular or
program improvements These recommendations, plus all notes and other data from
discussions at the retreat, will be studied and acted upon by the department
Undergraduate Curriculum Committee and individual program committees in
subsequent meetings during winter and spring quarters. Recommendations for
improvements based on these findings will be made by the curriculum committee to
the department at its spring quarter meeting.
8. Identify a TIMETABLE for assessment.
The English department will follow a five-year cycle for assessment. Over a two
year period, the department will assess the general learning outcomes for all English
students. During each year, the department will assess the specific learning
outcomes for one of its five concentrations. Since we are in the middle of an
assessment of the Creative Writing Concentration, the cycle will begin with the next
concentration:
Year 1 (2011):
plan)
Year 2 (2012):
Year 3 (2013):
Year 4 (2014):
Year 4 (2015):
Creative Writing Concentration (previous assessment
TESOL Concentration
Integrated Language Arts Concentration
Professional Writing Concentration
General Concentration in Literature
9. Briefly explain how the program’s assessment plan supports and interacts with
ACCREDITATION and LICENSURE requirements (if applicable).
N/A
10. Describe how the objectives and learning outcomes of the program are
COMMUNICATED to students and others.
English department program objectives and learning outcomes for all concentrations
will be made available as a link on the English department website. They will also
appear on the Introduction to the English major and on the advising guides for each
concentration given to all students when they enter the program. Assessment
reports will also be placed on the English department website. All reports will
summarize data and will discuss the results of assessment and any
recommendations for action that eventuated from the assessment activity.
Revised July 28, 2011
Department of English: Assessment of Undergraduate Program
Rubrics for evaluating undergraduate writing
The excellent undergraduate paper will meet the standards described in all of these
categories:
CONTENT
The central idea will be clearly defined and developed with originality and careful thought,
supported substantially and concretely. When a paper from a literature class is being
assessed for general program assessment purposes, it should present an effective and
persuasive reading of a text or texts based on knowledge of literary historical contexts and
of basic critical strategies.
Work being assessed for the concentration in literature should show the students’ genuine
familiarity with works in the Anglo-American literary tradition and/or other literatures written
in English; the student should also be very familiar with and skillful in the use the terms of
literary analysis.
Work being assessed for the concentration in creative writing should show the students’
genuine familiarity with the discipline of creative writing and with the value of criticism in
the creative process, as well as the ability to write in their specific chosen creative forms.
Work being assessed for the concentration in professional writing should show the
students’ genuine familiarity with the genres of professional writing and with the primary
writing conventions and skills needed in several fields, as well as the ability to create and
edit appropriate professional and/or technical documents.
Work being assessed for the concentration in TESOL should show the students’ genuine
familiarity with the nature of language, the structure of English, and the fundamentals of
language teaching, as well as the ability to develop a classroom pedagogy informed by
their understanding of language.
Work being assessed for the concentration in Integrated Language Arts should show the
students’ genuine familiarity with the fundamentals of teaching language arts at the high
school and middle school levels, as well as the ability to develop an approach to language
arts teaching informed by their understanding of literature and language.
MECHANICS
The paper will progress by clearly ordered and necessary stages; paragraphs will be
unified and developed with unusual effectiveness; transitions between and within
paragraphs will be clear and effective; paragraphs and sentences will be coherent and
emphatic. Diction will be appropriate, clear, carefully chosen, and idiomatic. Except for
very infrequent minor errors, grammar and punctuation will help to clarify meaning by
following accepted conventions; Misspellings will be very infrequent.